Hugh Atkinson was born in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. In the course of his career, he worked at various jobs in the media industry in England, Germany, India, the Pacific and Australia. He worked as an advertising copywriter for the Lintas Group in the 1950s. He spent five years working as a technical officer for the Indian Government. He worked as a scriptwriter for the United Nations for two years. He became a full-time novelist in the late 1960s.[2]
Writing careeredit
Hugh Atkinson's first novel, The Pink and the Brown, was published in 1957 and duly acclaimed as a critical success. Among other things, it looked at race relations in India in the 1950s. One of his later novels, The Longest Wire, recounted the story of the Overland Telegraph, one of the most ambitious projects attempted in 19th-century Australia. He wrote several other novels set in Outback Australia, notably Billy Two-Toes' Rainbow, which partly examines the lives of the Pitjantjatjara, an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert. His articles have appeared in The Bulletin[3] and Nation. In all, he published more than 15 books, including novels and children's books, and numerous short stories. Atkinson also wrote one novel under the pseudonym Hugh Geddes. It was a fictional recounting of the famous Pyjama Girl Case involving an apparently sordid murder which remained unsolved for many years.[4] The book was based on a 1977 film of the same name, directed by Italian filmmaker Flavio Mogherini.[5]
Screenwriting careeredit
In addition to his extensive documentary film work, two of Hugh Atkinson's novels were made into films. His novel The Games, about the Olympics, was made into a film of the same name. His novel The Reckoning was made into a dramatic film entitled Weekend of Shadows. He wrote the screenplays for both films, and also for L’amante végétale, a short story which was made into a film in French, directed by Jean Valmont.[6]
Worksedit
The Pink and the Brown. Victor Gollancz, London. 1957.
Low Company. F. W. Cheshire, London. 1961.
The Reckoning. The Bodley Head, London. 1963.
The Games. Bantam Books. 1968.
The Most Savage Animal. Rupert Hart-Davis London, London. 1972.[7]
A Twist in the Tale: Three Novellas. Penguin/Allen Lane. 1991. ISBN9780140147124
Jumping Jeweller of Lavender Bay. Viking/Allen Lane. 1992. From the 1992 edition "Authors Note" page 208, the story was originally published as a short story in Angus & Robertson anthology Coast to Coast in 1958 while the Author was in India, and later in 1962, it was also included in 'Australian Cavalcade', a school textbook of the time.
Last daysedit
Hugh Atkinson was made an Emeritus Fellow of the Literature Board of the Australia Council.[8] He died in 1994.
^Atkinson, Hugh (1973). The Most Savage Animal. Simon and Schuster. ISBN978-0-671-20817-2.
^Wilde, H. W., et al., The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, Oxford University Press. 1994
April 10, 2024
hugh, atkinson, novelist, hugh, geddes, atkinson, september, 1921, september, 1994, australian, novelist, journalist, screenwriter, documentary, film, maker, hugh, geddes, atkinsonborn, 1921, september, 1921died9, september, 1994, 1994, aged, nationalityaustra. Hugh Geddes Atkinson 17 September 1921 9 September 1994 1 was an Australian novelist journalist screenwriter and documentary film maker Hugh Geddes AtkinsonBorn 1921 09 17 17 September 1921Died9 September 1994 1994 09 09 aged 72 NationalityAustralianOccupation s novelist journalist screenwriter documentary film maker Contents 1 Early career 2 Writing career 3 Screenwriting career 4 Works 5 Last days 6 See also 7 SourcesEarly career editHugh Atkinson was born in Parkes New South Wales Australia In the course of his career he worked at various jobs in the media industry in England Germany India the Pacific and Australia He worked as an advertising copywriter for the Lintas Group in the 1950s He spent five years working as a technical officer for the Indian Government He worked as a scriptwriter for the United Nations for two years He became a full time novelist in the late 1960s 2 Writing career editHugh Atkinson s first novel The Pink and the Brown was published in 1957 and duly acclaimed as a critical success Among other things it looked at race relations in India in the 1950s One of his later novels The Longest Wire recounted the story of the Overland Telegraph one of the most ambitious projects attempted in 19th century Australia He wrote several other novels set in Outback Australia notably Billy Two Toes Rainbow which partly examines the lives of the Pitjantjatjara an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert His articles have appeared in The Bulletin 3 and Nation In all he published more than 15 books including novels and children s books and numerous short stories Atkinson also wrote one novel under the pseudonym Hugh Geddes It was a fictional recounting of the famous Pyjama Girl Case involving an apparently sordid murder which remained unsolved for many years 4 The book was based on a 1977 film of the same name directed by Italian filmmaker Flavio Mogherini 5 Screenwriting career editIn addition to his extensive documentary film work two of Hugh Atkinson s novels were made into films His novel The Games about the Olympics was made into a film of the same name His novel The Reckoning was made into a dramatic film entitled Weekend of Shadows He wrote the screenplays for both films and also for L amante vegetale a short story which was made into a film in French directed by Jean Valmont 6 Works editThe Pink and the Brown Victor Gollancz London 1957 Low Company F W Cheshire London 1961 The Reckoning The Bodley Head London 1963 The Games Bantam Books 1968 The Most Savage Animal Rupert Hart Davis London London 1972 7 Johnny Horns Corgi Children s London 1972 The Man in the Middle Hart Davis London 1973 ISBN 9780583123181 Crack up Hart Davis London 1974 ISBN 9780583124669 Weekend to Kill Angus amp Robertson Sydney 1977 ISBN 9780207136023 Unscheduled Flight Mayflower London 1978 ISBN 9780246108944 The Manipulators Angus amp Robertson Sydney 1978 ISBN 0207958130 Billy Two Toes Rainbow Nelson 1982 ISBN 0170059634 Grey s Valley The Legend Penguin 1986 ISBN 9780140093940 A Twist in the Tale Three Novellas Penguin Allen Lane 1991 ISBN 9780140147124 Jumping Jeweller of Lavender Bay Viking Allen Lane 1992 From the 1992 edition Authors Note page 208 the story was originally published as a short story in Angus amp Robertson anthology Coast to Coast in 1958 while the Author was in India and later in 1962 it was also included in Australian Cavalcade a school textbook of the time Last days editHugh Atkinson was made an Emeritus Fellow of the Literature Board of the Australia Council 8 He died in 1994 See also editAustralian outback literature of the 20th centurySources edit Hugh Atkinson AustLit Discover Australian Stories The University of Queensland Retrieved 26 September 2023 Biographical notes Low Company F W Cheshire Melbourne 1961 Horne Donald Donald Horne on How I Came to Write The Lucky Country Melbourne University Press 2006 Geddes Hugh The Pyjama Girl Case Sun Books Pty Ltd ISBN 0 7251 0299 3 Melbourne 1978 The Pyjama Girl Case 1978 IMDb IMDb Internet Movie Database https www imdb com name nm0040729 retrieved on 13 January 2011 Atkinson Hugh 1973 The Most Savage Animal Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 671 20817 2 Wilde H W et al The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature Oxford University Press 1994 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hugh Atkinson novelist amp oldid 1216007615, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
